Personal Data - Born December 14, 1960, in
Charleston, South Carolina. Married to glass artist Josh Simpson. She
enjoys flying, scuba diving, sports, music. As an undergraduate, she
competed in intercollegiate athletics on MIT's crew team. Her father,
James J. Coleman, resides in Vancouver, Washington. Her mother, Ann
L. Doty, resides in Westerly, Rhode Island.

Education - Graduated from W.T. Woodson
High School, Fairfax, Virginia, in 1978; received a bachelor of
science degree in chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology in 1983, and a doctorate in polymer science and
engineering from the University of Massachusetts in 1991.

Organizations - Member of the American
Chemical Society, the Society for Photo-Optical Instrumentation
Engineers (SPIE), the American Association of University Women, and
the International Womens' Air and Space Museum.

Experience - Coleman was commissioned as a
2nd lieutenant in the Air Force in 1983 and began graduate work at
the University of Massachusetts. Her research focused on polymer
synthesis using the olefin metathesis reaction, and polymer surface
modification. In 1988, Coleman entered active duty and was assigned
to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. As a research chemist at the
Materials Directorate of the Wright Laboratory, she synthesized model
compounds to investigate the use of organic polymers for third-order
nonlinear optical applications such as advanced computers and data
storage. Coleman also acted as a surface analysis consultant for the
Long Duration Exposure Facility (launched from STS 41-C in 1984 and
retrieved during STS-32 in 1990). In addition to assigned duties,
Coleman was a volunteer test subject for the centrifuge program at
the Crew Systems Directorate of the Armstrong Aeromedical Laboratory.
She set several endurance and tolerance records during her
participation in physiological and new equipment studies.

NASA Experience - Coleman was selected by
NASA in March 1992 and reported to the Johnson Space Center in August
1992. Initially assigned to the Astronaut Office Mission Support
Branch and detailed to flight software verification in the Shuttle
Avionics Integration Laboratory, Coleman subsequently served as the
special assistant to the Center Director, Johnson Space Center. She
served in the Astronaut Office Payloads and Habitability Branch,
working with experiment designers to insure that payloads can be
operated successfully in the microgravity environment of low earth
orbit. As the lead astronaut for long term space flight habitability
issues, she led the effort to label the Russian segments of the
International Space Station in English and also tracked issues such
as accoustics and living accommodations aboard the station. A veteran
of two space missions, Coleman has logged over 500 hours in space.
She was a mission specialist on STS-73, trained as a backup mission
specialist for an injured crew member on STS-83, and was lead mission
specialist on STS-93.

Space Flight Experience - STS-73 Columbia
(October 20 to November 5, 1995), was the second United States
Microgravity Laboratory mission. The mission focused on materials
science, biotechnology, combustion science, the physics of fluids,
and numerous scientific experiments housed in the pressurized
Spacelab module. In completing her first space flight, Coleman
orbited the Earth 256 times, traveled over 6 million miles, and
logged a total of 15 days, 21 hours, 52 minutes and 21 seconds in
space.

STS-93 Columbia (July 22-27, 1999) was a 5-day mission during which
Coleman was the lead mission specialist for the deployment of the
Chandra X-Ray Observatory. Designed to conduct comprehensive studies
of the universe, the telescope will enable scientists to study exotic
phenomena such as exploding stars, quasars, and black holes. Mission
duration was 118 hours and 50 minutes.